You are here

Machine Minute: Adding Borders

Adding borders to your quilt is a great way to finish it off. Here are some tips for measuring to ensure a square result.

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi, I'm Linda, and today's Machine Minute is brought to you by the Baby Lock Crescendo machine. Today we're going to take a little bit about adding the borders to your quilt. I like to wait until I'm done piecing my top before I cut those border strips, and here's why. There can be a little variation in your seam allowance throughout your quilt that can really make a difference in your quilt. In addition, I have noticed that although we all try to piece perfectly, sometimes your quilt is a little off where one side border is half an inch different than the other side border. So if you cut ahead of time, you may be in trouble. But also, if you just match up to your side borders, you can also be in trouble, because you would just continue that problem. So here's my solution. I measure each side of the quilt before I add my border to it and then I also measure down the center. I take those three numbers (and hopefully they're the same), but if they're not, I take the average, and I cut my two borders strips to that average length. Then I match the ends and the center, and then match the center points between those two points. At that point, if my border is longer or whichever piece is longer, I put down toward the feed dogs in the machine as I feed it in. And that can take care of any small adjustments you need to make to make those borders fit the quilt. The reason you want to go through this process is that you want to make sure your quilt lays flat. If you're not careful when you're adding your borders, that's where you get that ripple and that waving and it's harder for you as you're finishing it, and it's also harder for the quilter as they're quilting it. So take the time, measure the quilt, and make sure that your borders fit well. That's all there is to it.